Author's Note :
Thank you for the great reviews.
Here's the next chapter enjoy….
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A few days into the week, Tony entered autopsy and sat on one of the cold steel tables waiting for Ducky to acknowledge him.
"Anthony, you look tired and troubled."
"I am." Tony said.
"Jethro?"
"He is not okay, Ducky."
"I haven't seen him the last few days. I think his avoiding me."
"I have spent the last three nights at his place." Tony said.
"And."
"Ducky," Tony sighed. "He has nightmares every night. Really bad, ugly, scary nightmares. When I try to get him to talk about it, he pushes me away, makes a pot of coffee and heads into the basement. His started a new project but he won't say what it is. In fact he hardly says anything these day. Sometimes he works for 3 to 4 hours in the middle of the night while I sit and watch him. When he can no longer keep his eyes open, he lets me help him back to his room. I hear him toss and turn almost like he is trying not to get any sleep."
"Oh dear."
"He doesn't eat much, just drinks litres of coffee. I'm really worried about him Ducky."
"I am too. I will try to talk to him later today."
"I think we need to do something 'cause talking isn't going to work."
"What do you have in mind?"
"He needs to get back to work."
"Anthony, he is still recovering from a concussion."
"I know that. I think he needs something to take his mind off the fears that are hounding him. If he gets hooked into a case, he won't have so much free time to think about losing his babies."
"Is that what his nightmare's about?"
"I think so. The other night he woke up screaming that his babies were dead. I've never seen him like this. He is so lost and hurting so bad. I think getting back to work will help him snap out of this funk."
"Okay Anthony, you may be right. I will speak to Jenny and see if she is okay with this."
"Thank you, Ducky."
"Where is Jethro now?"
"At home. He said he would call me when he was ready to go to the hospital. You know that Jenny's working while resting but Gibbs doesn't know and I don't want him to find out."
"So you give her a heads up when you and Jethro are on route."
"Yep, that way she's happy and Gibbs is none the wiser."
"I hope you're right Anthony."
"Oh Ducky, don't even joke about that. Gibbs will kill me if he finds out I helped Jenny get on with her work."
"Well, can you give me a ride to the hospital so that we can chat to Jenny in Jethro's absence?"
"Sure, Ducky."
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Gibbs felt terrible. He had slept a total of 8 hours over the last four days and it was starting to affect him badly. He finished his fifth cup of coffee and popped a breath freshener into his mouth as he arrived at the hospital. Jenny still had a strong aversion to the smell of coffee and he didn't want to aggravate it.
He entered her room quietly expecting her to be resting. Instead he heard her say, "Yes Mr. Secretary. I am looking through the data now and will have an answer for you this afternoon."
"What the hell are you doing?" Gibbs demanded slamming the door shut. He saw files strewn across her bed and her laptop open on her lap.
Jenny's eyes widened in surprise. She placed a finger across her lips indicating that he be quiet. He glared at her and looked like a bear about to charge.
"It's no problem, Sir. I will speak to you later." Jenny said as she hung up.
"What's no problem, Jen?" Gibbs demanded. "You are supposed to be resting, taking care of yourself!"
"Calm down Jethro."
Oh crap, this is bad! Why didn't Tony warn me!
"We had an agreement." Gibbs insisted. "You would not work while in the hospital."
"Jethro, what are you doing?" Jenny demanded as Gibbs started gathering up the files.
"Getting rid of this stuff."
"No, I need to work on those reports. The SecNav is waiting for an answer."
"SecNav will just have to wait until you are back in the office. "Gibbs replied.
"No, this can't wait."
"It can wait."
"No, it can't. Jethro stop it right now. That's an order." Jenny shouted.
Gibbs stopped and starred at her. Then he approached her, leaned into her space and asked, "What did you just say?"
"You heard me."
"When it comes to this," he placed his palm across her lower abdomen possessively, shocking her. "I don't take orders from you or anyone else!" he spat out each word in a harsh and sharp manner.
"Jethro,"
"My babies come before anything else in my life now."
"They aren't your babies. They're our babies." Jenny replied as she pushed him back. "And I'm not endangering them in any way."
"The doctor said you needed to rest!"
"I am resting, but I can't just ignore my duties. I am the Director of the NCIS. I have certain responsibilities that can't wait."
"You've been working since day one, haven't you? You had no intention of stopping." Gibbs said stepping back.
"Jethro, calm down. You are overreacting."
"Admit it." Gibbs said as he paced the length of her room.
"Jethro, please."
"You lied to me. Everything we said over the last few days, the promises you made." Gibbs said facing her. "You lied!"
"Jethro, be reasonable."
"If anything happens to my babies I will never forgive you." Gibbs warned, turned and stormed out of the room.
He was so angry. His breath was harsh and his head pounded.
How can she do this?
She knows how terrified I am that something will happen to my babies.
How are we going to get through this?
We want different things.
I want these babies more than anything in this world … but she is the Director of the NCIS and she has other priorities…
She will follow my rules until she has my babies and then... and then...
Oh hell I don't know...